Photograph by Bob Christy, ‘95

Public Relations Master’s Program “Hits the Ground Running”

The field of public relations is climbing the list of hottest jobs, according to a 2006 ranking of popular professions by Money Magazine. Working as a “public relations specialist” ranked in the top 20 careers based on factors such as salary, job market and work environment.

Noting the growing need for highly skilled public relations professionals, Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication launched its master’s of public relations concentration in fall 2006. The program was crafted primarily for individuals who are interested in pursuing or refining careers in public relations and advancing to a strategic or management level.

“Public relations is hot,” says Jeanette Drake, a new assistant professor who is heading the innovative master’s track. “There is a lot of demand for public relations education at the graduate level, and the market supports that demand. Job placement is up, salaries are up, and job satisfaction is higher than ever. Public relations has never been more salient than it is today.”

With a 92.5 percent placement rate among public relations undergraduates, Kent State is known as the place for professional education in public relations. The new program will continue the tradition and “kick it up a notch, to the PR management level,” says Drake.

For more information about the school or the program, visit the School of Journalism and Mass Communication's master's degree in public relations Web page.

Wicks Host Writers in Bisbee

It could have been the change of scenery from the farmlands of Ohio to the hot, dry desert of Arizona, or it could have been the change from working and studying to living in the company of artists, poets and other creative individuals. Either way, the writers were inspired.

Last summer, a group of five MFA students traveled to Bisbee, Ariz., as part of a three-week summer workshop conducted by Maggie Anderson, director of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program and Kent State’s Wick Poetry Center.

The NEOMFA in creative writing was approved as a degree in the fall of 2004 with about 60 students enrolled in the program. The only consortial program of its kind in the nation, NEOMFA students from Kent State University, Youngstown State University, the University of Akron and Cleveland State gain the additional faculty and resources of all four universities throughout their studies.

The Bisbee trip, which had been in the planning stages for years, allowed the students to work together on a project while drawing inspiration from the landscape of the southwest.

Read more about the NEOMFA trip to Bisbee in the continuation of "Wicks Host Writers in Bisbee." You can also learn more about the center on the Wick Poetry Center Web site.

Invisible Struggles: Stories of Northern Segregation

A team of Kent State Trumbull faculty and students have produced an hour-long broadcast documentary called Invisible Struggles: Stories of Northern Segregation, which looks at civil rights and racial segregation in Warren, Ohio, from 1954-64.

“I personally would rather have someone call me a bunch of dirty names and at least acknowledge me as a person than act as if I wasn’t even there,” says Warren resident Cliff Johnson, a project participant who offers an interesting perspective about racial segregation during the 1950s and early 1960s. For Johnson and many other blacks who lived in the northern United States, this more passive form of racism was a way of life during the civil rights era.

The experiences of Johnson and other Warren residents are presented in the documentary, which is set to premiere on PBS 45 & 49.

Invisible Struggles will premiere on Monday, Feb. 5, at 9 p.m., followed at 10 p.m. by the broadcast of a town hall forum about race relations. The program and forum coverage will air again on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 12:30 a.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m.

To learn more about the project and its participants, read "Trumbull Campus students’ project leads to documentary and Warren town forum," a Kent State Magazine online exclusive.

Audiology Partnership Earns Top National Honor

Speech pathology and audiology students Laura Weyer and Jessica Seyko help adjust the hearing aid worn by Joe Krause, a client of the Speech and Hearing Clinic at Kent State.

AFA’s highest honor, the award was presented Oct. 12 during the opening session of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) convention.

“The Audiology Foundation of American Excellence award acknowledges the outstanding quality of our joint program—the Northeast Ohio Au.D. Consortium,” Carol Summer, Kent State University speech and hearing clinic director, said. “This award is gratifying because it is an acknowledgement from the audiology profession.”

Audiologists are hearing care specialists who provide evaluation and treatment for individuals with hearing and balance impairments. With 62 students enrolled in the fall 2006 semester, NOAC is the largest residential Au.D. program in the United States, the only collaborative four-year Au.D. program in Ohio, and one of only four collaborative programs in the country.

Learn more about this top honor in the continuation of "Audiology Partnership Earns Top National Honor," and then return to this section later this week for a podcast featuring Dr. Lisa Audet, assistant professor of speech pathology and audiology at Kent State University.

Professor Lauded for Work in Online Learning

Dr. Karen Swan, research professor in the College of Education, Health and Human Services’ Research Center for Educational Technology (RECT), recently was granted the Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual award by the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C). Sloan-C is a consortium of more than 1,000 organizations and accredited higher education institutions committed to making education accessible and affordable.

Swan’s work in the field of online learning has increased knowledge and contributed to improvement in pedagogy and research methodologies. Swan is internationally know for her research on learning processes in online environments and the effects of interactivity, social presence, collaboration and assessment on online learning outcomes.

In her role as best practices editor for Sloan-C, Swan has also performed an important role in synthesizing research findings on learning effectiveness across the discipline and reporting these findings to the online learning community.

The Sloan-C awards program celebrates the creative spirit that improves the quality of online learning and program development. Sloan-C is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

In addition, Swan is the principle investigator on a recently awarded three-year, nearly $1 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a curriculum for 7th grade students to teach data literacy across the curriculum.

RCET is a national leader in the study of the impact of technology on teaching and learning, with an emphasis on ubiquitous computing. Ubiquitous computing environments are learning environments in which all students have access to a variety of digital devices and services, whenever and wherever they need them — the technology is always available but not itself the focus of learning. 

For more information about Dr. Swan and the Research Center for Educational Technology, visit the RCET Web site.

Learning to Discern: Data Literacy Focus of $1 Million NSF Grant

Individuals use data every day to determine the nutritional value of the foods they buy, compare one car brand to another and much more. Societies use data to set public policy and evaluate programs such as Medicare or Welfare to Work — but are we teaching the nation’s students how to judge the data we use for fairness, accuracy and bias?

The National Science Foundation has awarded Kent State University’s Research Center for Educational Technology (RCET) a three-year grant of nearly $1 million to develop a curriculum for 7th grade students that will teach data literacy across the curriculum.

The materials, to be produced in collaboration with SRI International’s Center for Technology in Learning, will support four two-week units to be taught in social studies, mathematics, science and English courses, utilizing real data on water use and quality in the Middle East. Extensions to the units will involve data on water use and water quality in Ohio. Principle Investigator and Kent State Professor Dr. Karen Swan says the data was chosen because other communities will have comparable data to modify the curriculum to meet their needs. The curriculum will be pilot and field tested in three Ohio middle schools.

Read more about this grant in the online continuation of "Learning to Discern: Data Literacy Focus of $1 Million NSF Grant."

Software Donation Helps Train Students for Manufacturing Industry

“The state of Ohio is falling behind in manufacturing,” says Dr. Raj Chowdhury, dean of Kent State’s College of Technology. “Ohio needs to restore its competitiveness in manufacturing and the only way to accomplish that is to train our students to compete in a global economy.”

UGS Corp., a leading global provider of product lifecycle management software and services, and their local business partner, Appropriate Technology Inc., are helping Kent State students achieve this goal. Together, the companies made an in-kind software grant with a commercial list price of approximately $650,000 to Kent State’s College of Technology.

Appropriate Technology is providing the college with 45 copies of software and licenses of UGS Solid Edge® software, a 3-D computer-aided design program widely used by the manufacturing industry.

“Our commitment to Kent State’s College of Technology is due to the realization that education and industry must work together to further the regional manufacturing community,” says Rich Tenaglia, business development director of Appropriate Technology. “We see this as an excellent partnership for all involved.”

Read more about the software donation to Kent State's College of Technology. 

University Press Wins Northern Ohio Live Award of Achievement

The Kent State University Press recently received Northern Ohio Live Magazine’s Award of Achievement at a gala black tie affair at Cleveland’s State Theatre on Playhouse Square. The Press was awarded top honors in the writing category for its 2005 publication of Under Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway, the last complete posthumously published work by the celebrated author.

On behalf of the University Press staff, director Will Underwood accepted a handsome plaque from Northern Ohio Live and a proclamation from Cuyahoga County Council.

Upon receiving the award Underwood said, “We are immensely proud to have brought the work of this great writer to the reading public.” Underwood observed that the award puts the University Press in good company, among the region's best in the arts and sciences community.

Northern Ohio Live’s Awards of Achievement acknowledge the good works of people in realms from arts and media to architecture and health. The award ceremony was broadcast live on Cleveland’s WCLV 104.9 FM, and the award recipients will be featured in Northern Ohio Live Magazine's October issue.

For more information about the press or novel, visit the the Kent State University Press Web site.

McGruder Award in Media Diversity Recognizes Miami Herald Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.

Leonard Pitts Jr., a Pulitzer Prize winner and columnist for The Miami Herald, is the recipient of the 2006 Robert G. McGruder Award. The award recognizes the accomplishments of media professionals who encourage diversity in the field of journalism.

The McGruder Award was part of the fourth annual “Celebration of Diversity in the Media” on Oct. 24, sponsored by Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Office of Diversity and Academic Initiatives. The day included the Robert G. McGruder Lecture, awards program and luncheon.

Members of the news media from across Northeast Ohio attended the luncheon prior to the awards program. Kent State President Lester Lefton and Provost Paul Gaston addressed the group at lunch and talk about the university’s commitment to diversity.

Read more about Pitts, the McGruder Award and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in "Pulitzer Prize-winning Miami Herald Columnist Receives 2006 McGruder Award for Media Diversity"

Caregivers Can Adversely Affect Stroke Survivor's Quality of Life: Kent State Receives National Grant

A stroke is a sudden event that can affect all facets of the lives of the stroke survivor and their families. Recovery for stroke survivors often continues well beyond initial stroke onset, making support from family or other caregivers critical to the recovery process.

For those thrust into the role of caregiver, tending to the stroke survivor’s physical and emotional needs can present many challenges — and the stress experienced by caregivers can adversely affect the stroke survivor’s quality of life.

While stroke can happen at any time in life, older adults are the most affected population, and their spouses often shoulder the brunt of care-giving responsibilities.

Kent State University researchers have been awarded a $361,350 National Institute of Nursing Research grant to develop, test and refine an innovative, Web-based intervention designed to alleviate depression in caregivers and stroke survivors through peer and professional support.

Read more about this research grant in "Cyber Support for Stroke Survivors and Caregivers Focus of Inter-Disciplinary Study."

Mind Over Matter: Alternative Therapies Affect Experience of Chronic Pain

A significant number of people world-wide suffer with chronic pain, which affects every aspect of their lives, and often results in depression.

Researchers at Kent State University and Case Western University, led by Kent State nursing professor Wendy Lewandowski, tracked the experience of 44 patients being treated for chronic pain.

Patients in one group listened to a seven-minute audio tape that helped them to relax, focus on the sensory images their pain evoked, and then guided them to change the sensory images. This technique, known as "guided imagery," is an effective supplement to medication therapy.

Unlike those in the control group, the guided imagery patients in the study described their pain as ultimately more tolerable or easier to control.

For more information about related research, visit the College of Nursing Web site.

Former Akron Executive Creates Public Relations Scholarship at Kent State

Tom Duke is well known in the Akron area for his adept handling of national and crisis communications in the tire industry. Duke and his wife, Juanita, recently established a generous named scholarship endowment for public relations students at Kent State University.

Duke’s career has taken him from student editor of the Daily Kent Stater to public relations managerial positions with three Fortune 500 companies and two top agencies in Ohio and South Carolina. He currently counsels clients in a number of industries.

A 1955 graduate of Kent State’s journalism program, Duke was named Distinguished Alumnus by the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He also is a past president of the national board of the Kent State University Alumni Association.

The Dukes live in Greenville, S.C., where Tom is senior public relations counselor at Jackson-Dawson Marketing Solutions and Juanita has enjoyed a 30-year career with Michelin North America. Tom was named Outstanding Public Relations Practitioner in South Carolina for 2004 by the South Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), of which he served as president in 2005. An accredited public relations practitioner, he was elected to the PRSA College of Fellows in 1999, a select group of only 340 members worldwide.